Apocalypsis
by stateofrandomness
Summary: Paily zombies AU. All the movies, shows, books and even games about the undead should have prepared us for the possibility that something this crazy would happen, or someone being crazy enough to make it happen. I know the world ended that week, because all we had after is fear, and the chaos that surrounds us.
1. Prologue

**A/N: First things first, I'm not a native English speaker so I apologize for any misuse of words or terrible grammar x:. This is my first attempt at writing so I would appreciate any sort of feedback and/or criticism. Also don't hesitate to be honest about my writing skills, as it will help me learn or well, in case its too awful stop writing.  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or any of its characters. **

* * *

><p>It all started with reports of animal attacks, the incidents were spoken of in passing, and no one really bothered to pay attention to them. Why care about a poor bastard who should have known better than to mess with a wild animal. For a while there was all there is to it.<p>

* * *

><p>I was sitting in a café with my two best friends. The place was surprisingly packed for a Sunday morning, it was buzzing with fleeting conversations, faint music playing in the background.<p>

We were discussing our plans for the evening, and by discussing I mean listening to Pru and Shana argue back and forth over dinner plans and which club to hit tonight. I blocked them out 5 minutes into the argument, knowing how stubborn they both are, it would take them another 25 minutes to finally settle on something.

I was playing with my phone. Listening to random bits of conversation from people around us, when something caught my attention, someone must have been watching or listening to the news. It was another report, allegedly another animal attack. I was brought back to the discussion at hand as Pru announced our final plans for later and then proceeded to talk about her most recent boy of interest. I was vaguely aware of what the newscaster was saying as I tried to participate in the conversation Shana and Pru were having. Had I not been listening to Pru go on and on about a guy named Patrick and Shana insisting that I should start dating, I would have registered the last few words that have been said in the news report. Those words would have me cancel my plans for tonight, run to the safety of my place, board all of the windows and block all of the doors.

Live. Cadavers.

Instead I was telling Shana for the tenth time that week that I am currently not interested in dating, which led to her explaining the "awesomeness" of one night stands and how I need to have fun every now and then.

We finally parted ways around noon with a final confirmation of meeting at my place at 7PM. As I stepped out of the café and into the sidewalk I was hit with specks of water, I glanced up at the sky trying to estimate how long it would take before the light rain would turn into a downpour and whether I'll be able to make it home before that occurs, as it was a good 20 minutes' walk from the café to my apartment complex.

* * *

><p>My chest heaved as the door closed behind me, water dripped from my fingertips onto the floor, clothes heavy and a squashing sound came with every step I took. I stripped my clothes off by the door deciding that a shower would be a good idea after sprinting for 15minutes in the cold rain. After my shower I opted to make myself a sandwich and settled in front of the TV. As I was flipping through the channels another report came on, the news caster was talking about an epidemic in Japan, and soon it was followed by another, explaining how after years of research and failed experiments a scientist was able to bring back the dead, defying every code of ethics in science. However the success of his experiment was short lived as the undead Cadavers were not capable of making any sort of interaction and lacked the human characteristics, they were almost animalistic, out of control, violent, attacking the living.<p>

* * *

><p>Looking back, I think everyone knew what was going on, they simply just refused to believe that it was really happening. All the movies, shows, books and even games about the undead should have prepared us for the possibility that something this crazy would happen, or someone being crazy enough to make it happen.<p>

I know the world ended that week, because all we had after is fear and the chaos that surrounds us.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: I would like to thank those who took the time to review and follow the story.**

**It took longer than I thought it would to write this chapter but hey, its here now. I would really appreciate any sort of feedback good or bad so feel leave a review or send a pm.**

* * *

><p>Paige's POV:<p>

I was just finishing up my sandwich when my pager went off. I groaned knowing that my day off was cut short and I had to head to the hospital. Needless to say I was not thrilled, but at least the rain let up. I hastily changed into my scrubs and sent a text to Pru letting her know that I've been called into the hospital.

I parked my car in the last decent space in the employees' parking lot, hearing sirens as an ambulance made it its way into the emergency drive.

I made my way to the side entrance and slid my badge through the card reader and waited for the lock to release. I pulled open the heavy door and rushed through the main lobby as I made my way to the ER.

Loren, a nurse waved at me as I passed. "Hey Paige" she said with a shy smile. I nodded more concerned with navigating my way to the pit.

"You should talk to her" Hanna said when I passed by her.

A groan escaped my lips, "Don't even start, I already said no"

"Come on she's cute, and She's dying to talk to you" A mischievous smile on her face. Hanna Marin loved her gossip and relationships talk, in fact I believe it comes in a close second to her love of fashion. I first met Hanna back in med school; she was quite the fashionista, with a bubbly personality. At first most people thought she was in the wrong class, but she proved them wrong.

"I already told you no, and I know that look you better not do anything." I said "now let go see some patients"

* * *

><p>"Christy Donovan, age 21, acute abdominal pain, vomiting, and extreme weight loss. No history of abdominal disease or surgeries. Correct?" Hanna asked turning to Christy.<p>

Christy nodded. Her eyes sunken and surrounded by dark circles, her skin sickly gray.

Hanna's pager went off, she pulled it out of her lab coat pocket and glanced at it "They need me in OR 1, you're good here?" I nodded before I turned my attention back to Christy.

I took in her appearance and picked up the requisition paper that was filled in by a nurse. I suspected that she has been sick for a while but it turns out she only been sick for less than 40 hours, "There must be a mistake" I thought to myself. I glanced up at her "How long have you been sick?" I asked. "About two days?" She replied. "Have you been this sick before?" she shook her head no. "Have you traveled lately or been exposed to something?" she shook her head again, and then held out her arm, showing me a bite mark right in the middle of her forearm.

"Dog bite?"

"A drunk or maybe he was on something and was having a bad trip?" she laughed weakly." I was just leaving a club the other night, and then this guy out of nowhere grabs my arm and takes a bite. Apparently I was not the only one; I heard he attacked other people as well. You don't think its rabies right?"

"I don't think so, but we'll get some blood tests done just to be safe" I offered her a comforting smile. "I'll Also order in a UGI, It'll give me a better look at what is causing you pain." I paused. " Would you like me to explain the procedure for you?" I asked. She nodded her approval.

"An X-ray tech will take few x-rays of your abdomen. Then you'll drink a cup of barium, and I'll use fluoroscopy which is basically like an x-ray but instead of pictures, I'll get a video. It'll allow me to watch the movement of the barium through your esophagus, stomach, and the first part of the small intestine. Do you have any questions?"

"Does the barium taste bad?" She asked "I've been vomiting a lot"

"It's not all that bad, I'll even let you pick the flavor" I winked at her. "Alright, I'll grab a wheelchair while they take your blood samples and then we'll head to radiology".

I returned to Christy after I managed to find a wheelchair, I situated her in the chair taking notice of her cold skin and extremely light weight. "how much weight did you lose since you've gotten sick?" I asked as I draped a blanket around her.

"Thanks, I am always feeling cold since I've gotten sick. And I've lost almost 17 pounds"

"17 pounds in less than two days?" She nodded. "Okay let's get on with UGI, the X-ray tech will take it from here; I'll be on the other side, I'll give the instructions on when to drink the barium and I'll observer the monitors."

I was examining the x-rays carefully when Caleb showed up. "Hey Paigey, What do you have here?" I rolled my eyes at the name and pointed at the x-ray. "Jesus, that's a mess" He said with a somewhat shocked expression. "I know, her insides are basically dying, Ill cancel on the UGI it's pointless" I sighed knowing there isn't much I can do to help her. "Well, you could open her up, take a better look, you might be able to help" he suggested. I nodded but I was already feeling resigned "Yeah, but I doubt it'll make a difference". I felt like I was prolonging the inevitable, having to break in the reality of the situation to her. She's dying, she probably has few days left, and I can't do anything about it. "I'll go talk to her about the change in plan" He nodded sympathetically.

* * *

><p>As predicted the surgery was pointless, I basically opened her up just to close her up again. I made my way to the cafeteria to get myself some coffee while I wait for Christy to wake up so I can deliver the bad news to her. I found Hanna sitting there and took a seat next to her. "How was your surgery?" I asked, however she was too engrossed in reading something on her tablet that she didn't even bother to acknowledge me. I sat quietly sipping my coffee, no matter how many times I had to be the bearer of bad news, I still couldn't get used to it. It's never easy to tell someone that they are dying.<p>

After 5 minutes of silence, Hanna tore her eyes away from her tablet and started speaking. "Hey, have you heard about the flu that's been spreading in Japan? Apparently we have it here too. Some states have been reporting cases."

I nodded "Hanna, I don't think it's really a flu though."

She shrugged "well whatever , they say it has something to do with that scientist experiment"

"They?" I asked. Hanna rolled her eyes and replied "You know the news people".

I was about to reply when both our pagers went off. "Looks like it's starting to get busy in the pit" I sighed and we started to make our way to the elevators.

The hospital was crawling with people, the ER was admitting a new patient every 2 minutes, Car accidents, fights, and a highly contagious virus, it seemed like all hell has broken loose.

I was making my way to radiology for the umpteenth time since I got paged when I saw some patients and staff members gathered around the TV in the lobby's waiting area. I found Caleb standing among the crowd "What's going on?" I asked as I approached him. He simply nodded toward the TV, eyes still glued to it. I felt sick looking at the images that were shown in the television. Cars were wrecked and piled up. The injured are being carried to a fleet ofambulances. Corpses lying on the ground, covered with thin sheets, blood soaking through the fabric.

I was reading the updates on the screen when my phone started ringing. I pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

"Hey mom"

"PAIGE! I've been calling your house number. Are you alright dear?" she asked sounding slightly panicked

"I'm fine mom; I got called into the hospital, it's kind of crazy in here."

"Have you been watching the news?"

"Yeah, I was just checking the updates. We started reporting cases an hour ago. I'm sorry mom but I really have to go" I sighed, the hospital was getting busier by the second and I had no idea when I'd be able to leave. That is if I was allowed to leave.

"Alright dear, be careful"

"I will" I replied before hanging up.

I rubbed my temples, trying to ease the pulsing headache that I was currently suffering from. I started making my way to radiology before rushing back to the ER. I had a bad feeling about this and a single thought in mind, whatever is happening, it won't be over any time soon.

* * *

><p>Emily's POV:<p>

I clocked out of the café after an eight hours shift. I hated the job, I felt stuck but it paid the bills. I settled for this job once I was discharged from duty, I was deemed unfit for service due to an injury. I thought spending 3 years on an overseas tour would have me prepared for anything, but nothing could really prepare you for teenage girls with coffee orders so long; they make you wonder how much time they spent trying to memorize them.

I made my way to the car, started the ignition and turned the radio on. The host was talking about the flu that has apparently breached our shores. Panic has broken out all over the country. Those who were sick started attacking other people and the paramedics who were trying to help.

In the back of my mind I know what was going on. Throughout my shift, I kept on listening to the news, or stopped to watch whenever I had the chance. The anchor has been talking about the scientist in Japan and his experiment and the fast spreading epidemic.

A loud buzzing sound came on the radio, followed by an automated message " This is a red alert broadcast, a highly contagious virus is sweeping across the nation, if possible please stay indoors. This is a red alert….." The message kept on playing over and over again.

All I saw while I was driving to the apartment is chaos. People screaming and running around. They were trying to get to the safety of their homes.

* * *

><p>Once I made it to the building I rushed to the apartment, climbing the stairs two at a time. I was praying that Spencer, my best friend and roommate actually stayed at home instead of heading to the office to catch up on paper work like she does every other Sunday. I made it in to our apartment and called out her name "Spencer?""Spencer? Are you home?" and just like I have expected I've got no reply. I decided to call her cell, but all I got is static noise. I groaned "why can't you just enjoy your day off like most people." I mumbled to myself.<p>

I rushed down the flight of stairs, making my way to the car again. I was determined to make it to Spencer's work place. The Streets were busy but the cars were still moving. It took me 35 minutes to make a usually 15 minutes' drive, but I was thankful that I have made it. I parked my car and ran into the law firm. Thankfully Spencer's office was located on the second floor making it easier for me to get to her.

Once I reached her floor, I was surprised that she isn't the only one working. There was at least a dozen of lawyers and they seemed to not have a clue about what's going in the outside world. I barged into her office "SPENCER! We have to go." She jerked her head up seemingly surprised that I was here . "What? Why? Is this another one of your interventions? Honestly Em, I have ton of work to do." I shook my head "Haven't you heard the news? The world is going crazy, I doubt that your paper work matters. We are on red alert Spencer!" I yelled. It was hard to keep a lid on the panic that was slowly bubbling inside me. I knew Spencer was hardheaded but now was not the time. "let's go" I didn't wait for her response I grabbed her hand and started dragging her out of the office and rushed to the stairs.

We were crossing the firm's lobby when we were stopped by a guy whom I vaguely remember; I think he might be her boss. "Ms. Hastings? What's going on? Where are you going?" I was shocked that these people had no Idea about what was going on. They had no clue about the horrific nightmare that awaits them outside. I replied before Spencer had the chance to do so. "You need to send those people home, send them home to their families, and then you need to run" We didn't have time to waste on explaining, so I didn't bother to wait around for his reaction and bolted towards the stairs.

Once we made it to the parking lot, I ran to the car I got in and slammed the door shut, making sure that the doors were locked. I turned to Spencer "you better get your seat belt on". I heard the seat belt click, and I floored the gas pedal. I was afraid if I even slowed down for few seconds, something horrible might happen. I sped through the streets, ignoring traffic lights and doing my best to avoid other panicked drivers. "What the fuck are you doing Emily? You'll get us killed!" Spencer Yelled.

"We'll get killed if we stay on the streets; we need to get to our apartment Spencer. We need to gather some stuff and get out of the city." I answered, while doing my best to pay attention to the road so we don't get hit by other cars.

I slowed down a little bit when we made it to the back roads. They weren't busy or crowded I guess people couldn't think clearly in their panicked state. I explained things briefly to Spencer . She didn't comment but I could almost hear the wheels turning inside her head. I started to mentally list the thing that we might need from the apartment as I didn't want to waste anymore time. We were 10 minutes away from our building when Spencer decided to break the silence. "Where are we going to go?" She asked.

"I don't know Spencer." I paused for a second before I continued. "I think it would safer if we leave the city. It's too crowded in here, which means more infected". She nodded her head in understanding "You're right."

"Spencer Hastings said I'm right? Wow the world must really be coming to an end" I chuckled. The world was going hell, so I might as well joke about it.

* * *

><p>We made it to the apartment thankfully unscathed. I ran toward my room and grabbed my old duffle bag. I started shoving things that I thought were necessary into it. Batteries, Flashlights, Blankets, whatever snacks and canned food I found in the apartment. I went back to my room and to fill another backpack with some basic clothing. I was about to leave the room again before I remembered something. I crouched near the bed and pulled out the small vault that I've kept hidden there. I entered my combination and took out my gun and bullets box. I tucked the gun inside my waistband and shoved the bullets into my backpack. I managed position both bags across my back and shoulders before leaving the room.<p>

"Spencer, we have to go" I yelled.

I was startled by the sound of a scream that was followed by the sound of gun shots.

"Spencer! Let's go, we are running out of time", Spencer emerged from her room, eyedswide. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah we better leave".

We were just stepping out of the building, when we heard more screams, followed by another round of gunshots. This time it was much closer. I watched the color drain out of Spencer's face and the panic that I was trying to contain began to spill over.

"**_Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit_**."


	3. Chapter 2

Paige's POV:

"Paige!" Hanna shouted my name as I was running back to the ER. "I got some of the X-rays you've request. I thought I'd save you the trip since I was there."

"Thanks Hanna" and I really was thankful, I've been running back and forth between Radiology and the ER for the past 3 hours.

"Don't worry about it, It's pretty crazy in here, huh?" she replied.

"Crazy is an understatement, I have a patient who got bitten by her boyfriend, and another who got bitten by her daughter"

"Hey Paigey, you don't think this has anything to do with what's been on the news lately, do you?"

" I think …" my reply was interrupted by a call that came over the intercom.

" Code Gray. OR 2. Code Gray. OR 2"

"Whats a Code gray again?" Asked Hanna.

"Violent Patient"

We were making our way through the OR double doors when another call came over. "Code Gray. OR 7. Code Gray OR 7" and then another "Code Gray. OR 4. Code Gray OR 4" " Code Gray. Waiting Area. Code Gray. Waiting Area"

"What the fuck is going on?" Hissed Hanna

A doctor who was running in the same direction as we were answered "All infected patients are acting hostile."

"Something is not right Hanna" and as if right on cue we heard a loud chorus of screams. A sick feeling came over me. Every fiber in my body was telling me to run the other way, but I was a doctor. I was supposed to save lives.

I made my way to the nearest OR with Hanna hot on my heels. I was curious, but I also dreaded what we might find behind the doors. I was about to step into the room when a nurse ran out. She was frantic, eyes wide; blood covered her face, neck, and scrubs. "Run! You need to run" was all she said before bolting out of the hallway.

Suddenly everyone was filtering out of the previously occupied ORs, I tried to get them to tell me what was going on, but they were busy running. They were running like their lives depended on it. And perhaps it did.

My curiosity has always gotten the best of me. When I was a kid I was always asking questions about things I've heard or seen. Or I'd always ask my parents what they were talking about, even though I wasn't supposed to be listening to their conversation. I'd always open gifts even though my mother has told me not to. Simply because I was curious, and I always got myself scolded because of it.

So I've done the only thing that I could do to appease my curiosity. I pushed open the door and what I found left me paralyzed. The patient?Thing? Whatever she was, she was feeding on a nurse. Tearing and gnawing at his flesh, blood pooled around, his guts and intestines were spilling out, splattered on the floor. My mother always told me, curiosity has killed the cat, and right now It couldn't be any truer. I knew that I should leave before I got noticed, I willed my legs to move but they refused to cooperate. I was simply frozen in place.

I was jerked out of my fear induced paralysis when I felt a hand take hold of my arm "Do you have a death wish? We need to leave now" Whispered Caleb as he pulled me out of the room. I shook my head, trying to rid my brain of what I had just seen. "Paige! lets go" he said dragging both Hanna and I to the nearest exit. I heard more screams but I didn't dare to look back.

"Do you have your car keys?" He asked once we made it to the parking lot.

I nodded my head yes, and fished the keys out of my pocket. I always kept them in the locker but for whatever reason I left them out today, maybe I forgot them in my haste earlier or maybe it was pure luck.

Running across the parking lot to my Prius, I heard tires screech, horns go off, everyone was trying to flee. I turned around for a second to see what was happening and that's when I saw a car coming around the corner, clipping a man with its left side. His limb body rolled to the curb. I wanted to check on him but something inside of me made me get into the car instead. I gripped the steering wheel; trying to stop my hands from shaking. Taking deep breathes in an attempt to subdue the panic that has washed over me.

I was backing out of the parking spot, when a pickup truck slammed into the car's rear, taking us straight into a wall. I could barely hear Hanna's screaming over the sound of my own heart pumping in my ears. My chest heaved with shallow breathes. I stumbled out of the car gasping for air. Shock and fear were the only things I was capable feeling at that moment. I made it to the other side of the car, praying that Hanna and Caleb were unharmed. I opened both doors for them. Caleb got out of the car while I helped Hanna out "are you okay Han?" She nodded. I turned my attention to Caleb.

"What about you?"

"All good, just a few bruises." I sighed in relief.

"What do we do now? We don't even have a car" said Hanna, and I can hear the panic in her voice.

I looked around, trying to figure out something, anything really, that could possibly save us. I caught a glimpse of people fanning out of the car dealership across the street, joining others that were running for their lives. I watched in horror as a man charged towards a woman, taking her down before taking a bite out of her neck, her screams attracting others. They limbed over to the body and began to feed. Gunshots sounded in the distance, adding to the noise and chaos.

"There!" I pointed before sprinting toward the dealership.

The dealership was relatively small, large floor to ceiling windows, few sedans, SUV's, and couple of pickup trucks.

"Hello?" Hanna called out, but got no answer.

She tried again but this time louder "HELLO?" still no reply.

"Let's check the offices" suggested Caleb and I nodded.

We made our way slowly to the upper floor. Luckily they only had few offices. We spread out looking for keys, carefully going through them. The first office I checked was empty, so I checked another one. Opening couple of drawers before finally finding a pile of keys, I grabbed one and I shouted for Hanna and Caleb to stop their search. I rushed to the lower floor. Pressing at the car remote trying to identify which car it belonged to, and praying that it had enough gas to get us out of town. I noticed the lights blinking on one of the pickup trucks. I yanked the car door open and climbed in, checking the gas meter. I thanked whoever scheduled a test drive today. I turned on the engine, and waited for Caleb and Hanna to climb in. Once they settled, I maneuvered my way between the other cars. "Hold on" was the only thing I said before pressing the gas pedal to the floorboard and smashing through the glass windows.

"Holy Shit Paige!"

I glanced at the rear view mirror to find a wide eyed Hanna.

"I don't think they'd mind" I replied nonchalantly.

"Stop at ours, we'll get some stuff before leaving" Said Caleb

I shook my head, "We don't have time, and we need to get out before the streets get jammed"

"Paige, we need to get some supplies, food, and some clothes" Huffed Caleb.

"Look we'll worry about that when we leave the city, we'll just stop somewhere"

I kept the gas pedal pressed until we reached the main road out of the city, traffic lights and speed limits were pretty much irrelevant at this point. The highway was dotted with wreckage. Gunshots could be heard. My fingers tightened around the steering wheel. We had to make it out alive.

* * *

><p>Emily's POV:<p>

"Spencer? Are you okay?" I said not even trying to hide my panic.

She nodded her head yes.

"We need to make it back to the car quickly, keep your head down, and no matter what you hear, don't look back and don't lift your head up, okay?"

"Okay" She rasped out.

We kept our heads down as we rushed to the car. Gun shots rang around us, cars raced by. Hell was raining down on all of us.

My hands trembled as I tried to unlock the car, I cursed at my hands under my breath.

"EM!"

I turned, to see a cop shuffling toward us, mouth open, a guttural groan emanated from his throat. I pulled out my gun. "Please Stop right there" But he kept on shuffling toward us.

"Stop, I'm going to shoot you if you come any closer". I gripped my gun tighter, taking a shot at his leg, but that didn't stop him. My next bullet was aimed at his head. I watched as he went down, unmoving. I approached his body cautiously, kicking him for good measure. Once I was sure that he was no longer a threat, I leaned down, unsnapping his holster and removing his gun. "Here take it, I think it would be better if we were both armed" I said as I passed the gun to spencer. She seemed reluctant but took it eventually.

We both got in the car and buckled our seatbelts. Spencer reached out and locked the doors. I backed out and drove in the same direction as the other cars.

The roads were basically an obstacle course. I was jerking the wheel left and right avoiding people, debris, and other cars. It was a risk taking the old highway but it was the fastest way out of town. There were maybe thirteen cars with us; I wasn't sure since the black Silverado in front of us made it hard to look ahead. We made it out of the highway and into a small town after miles of driving. I was on edge, the town was eerily quiet, the streets were abandoned, no people running around, no corpses. It didn't feel right.

The Silverado came to a stop. I had no idea what to expect. I looked around trying to figure out why they stopped, when I finally noticed a woman and her child stuck in a phone booth. Several corpses were banging at the glass, and I made sense of why the stopped.

The Silverado horn went off couple of times, getting the attention of the undead. "Don't do anything stupid" I muttered to myself. In the same second I saw a woman in scrubs jump out of the driver side. She started shouting and waving her arms around.

" shit shit shit" I heard Spencer mumble, her eyes darting between the woman and the corpses shuffling towards her.

" PAIGE ! GET IN" I heard someone shout from inside the car. She jumped in and drove away speedily. I followed behind, grateful that we made it out unscathed.

We were approaching the edge of the next town when I noticed a barricade of army vehicles. The driver in the Silverado, whom I now know as Paige, slowed to a stop. I pulled up next to her. I was on high alert, this did not look good. I noticed a soldier aiming his gun at a man, who seemed like he was begging him to let him pass through.

Paige horn went off, making me take my attention off the man. I turned toward her car and I noticed she had her window rolled down. I rolled down the passenger's side window, figuring that she probably had something to say.

" Back up, back up, back up" was all she said before I heard the sound of open fire, bullets were filling every inch of the man's body and his car.

" FUCK" I screamed and yanked the gear shift into reverse. Flooring the gas pedal. I watched Paige do the same, before turning her car in the opposite direction, and I followed suit.

"Jesus, aren't they supposed to protect people?" Asked a wide eyed Spencer.

"I don't think they care right now" I managed to say between gritted teeth. They weren't letting anyone out or in, they probably were given orders to off anyone who approaches them or defies them.

I watched as Paige made a sharp turn into a dirt road, and I decided that I was better off following her. The area was heavily wooded, we were probably three miles in when she came to a stop.

She popped the driver's door open, and climbed out of the car. She made her way toward our car and knocked on the window gesturing for me to roll it down.

"_Holly fuck_, are you guys alright?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I intended to post this chapter sooner but sunset overdrive happened, and I ended up wasting my time on that game.**

**P.s: are you guys enjoying this?**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N : I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, mostly because my head had been a mess and I ended up rewriting it couple of times. hopefully it isn't all that bad, soooo please let me know what you think of it.**

* * *

><p>Paige's POV:<p>

"Are out of your damn mind?! What the hell were you thinking?" Yelled Hanna

"I know it was stupid but …." Hanna didn't even give me the chance to finish my sentence.

"But you were trying to help; you were two seconds away from becoming zombie food!"

"Hanna she had a kid, I.. they would have become "Zombie Food" If I hadn't helped" I reasoned with her. I know she was scared. But weren't we all afraid at this point?

"You're fucking stupid" mumbled Hanna.

"Hanna…."

"Okay guys now is not the time to argue, let's focus on where we are headed" Caleb cut in.

"Where are we going anyway?" Asked Hanna.

"I don't know yet, but as far away from the city as we can get" I answered

"Paige, that's not really much of a plan. We need food, and maybe a map because I doubt that GPS would be working. We don't even have enough fuel" Said Caleb.

"Do you have a better Idea?" I huffed.

"I do" Answered Hanna.

I glanced at the rear view mirror, waiting for Hanna to elaborate.

"We can stop at Rosewood" She shared a look with Caleb. "We can stop at my old house; I mean I'm sure we'd find something useful there"

"Hanna are you sure?" asked Caleb with a concerned tone. She nodded "I'm sure"

I understood his concern, Hanna rarely spoke of her life in her home town, and I've known her long enough to know that it was a sore subject; I suspected that Caleb knew the reason behind it. She told me bits and pieces about her group of friends, about how they were close but lost touch after high school, she also told me about how her mother passed away in her senior year. I thought that might be the reason why she was reluctant to talk about her old life, but now it seems that there is more to it than that.

I drove through the next few miles in complete silence, there didn't seem to be an appropriate topic for our current situation, and what do you talk about when the world is falling apart anyway.

I took in my surroundings; the highway was pretty much deserted, with the exception of the caravan of cars that we were a part of. Fifteen cars to be exact, we were second to last, with the same highlander that has been behind us ever since we left the city.

We were approaching Pennsylvania, when I noticed the military cars line up. I also noticed the cars that were piled on the side of the road. It looked like one of those post-apocalyptic scenes you normally see in movies. A feeling of dread washed over me and I slowed down before coming to a complete stop.

"Uh, Caleb, did they mention check points on the news?" I asked.

"Not that I know of, maybe they are trying to quarantine the city?" He replied.

I hummed in response. I was distracted by scene that was unfolding before me. A man and a Soldier seemed to be arguing. I rolled down the window in attempt to listen to what was going on. He was begging the soldier to let him through. I caught sight of the highlander pulling up right next to me. I glanced around for a second time, as if the more I look around the more things would make sense, and that's when I noticed that the piled up cars were actually filled with bullets. I turned back my attention to what was in front of me as I heard yelling and shouting. I noticed the soldiers nodding at each other's, like they were carrying some sort of order, that's when I realized what was about to happen. "Guys, you might wanted to duck down" I warned, and then I pressed the car horn, warning the car next to me.

The person rolled down the passenger's side window, mistaking my action as an attempt to speak to them.

I screamed at them to back up. I put the car in reverse terrified that we might be next. Just as I managed to turn the car around, I heard the sound of rifles going off.I kept the gas pedal pressed, getting as far away from them as possible. I tried to keep my emotions in check, but my shaking hands and ragged breathing were a dead giveaway. I gripped the steering wheel tighter, we made it this far, I couldn't afford to get us killed in a stupid car accident.

"They just shot a person, a living person. Oh god and his family they were in the car, they just shot them" I heard Hanna say, panic evident in her voice.

"Jesus, that's fucked up" Caleb added.

"We can't go back to the city, there has to be another way" I said, eyes fixed on road trying to find another possible route. I noticed a dirt road leading through the woods and made a sharp turn, not even bothering with the brakes.

I slowed down a bit in attempt to better navigate the car, also finally noticing that the driver in the Highlander was still behind us. Not sure if they were simply following us, or they had an actual idea of where this might lead.

"We need a new plan, Imma check with those people, they might have a map or something" I said, as I slowed the car to a stop.

I Climbed out of the car and made my way to the highlander, trying to figure out how to best approach them, cursing my shitty social skills. I knocked on the window in an attempt to get the driver's attention. She rolled down the window, and my brain went blank. I took in her tanned skin, almond shaped eyes and her black tresses. She was stunning, I shook my head; now was definitely not the time to be gawking at strangers, let alone gawking at stranger in the middle of the woods, while the undead and god knows what else lurked around.

"Holy fuck, are you guys alright?" I blurted out; I resisted the urge to bash my head against the nearest tree. My only consolation is that my outburst was justified considering what we've just escaped.

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up" She replied with what I assumed to be a smile but it looked more like a grimace.

"No problem" I paused for a second not sure of what else to say.

"I'm Paige by the way" seemed like a good start.

"Emily and this is my friend Spencer" She replied pointing at the girl in the passenger's seat before climbing out of the car.

I heard the sound of approaching footsteps, knowing its Hanna and Caleb. I turned around to introduce them. "This is Caleb and …" I heard Emily exclaim "Hanna?"

I watched Hanna tense up, her eyes widening in shock.

I kept on glancing between them, not sure of what's going on. They seemed to have gotten themselves in an intense staring contest. I turned to Caleb but he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"You guys know each other?" I asked Hanna.

She cleared her throat before answering, "Uh, yeah… we sort of grew up together". I waited for more but it seemed like that's all I'm getting from her.

"Oh, so umm.. I was hoping you guys had a map? Or maybe knew where these woods would lead to" I said, turning back my attention to Emily.

"We don't, sorry. Where are you guys headed?" she asked, eyes still glued to Hanna.

"Rosewood"

I was startled when Spencer started speaking as she was quiet the entire time.

"These woods would eventually lead to the main road if I'm not mistaken." Said Spencer.

"Maybe we should stay here for the night? It's getting dark. It would be safer to go through the woods in day light and we can't really afford to waste fuel" I said worriedly. I had no Idea how far these woods would stretch and the thought of getting lost here in the dark made me uneasy.

"You're right, I think it's safer to wait till the morning." said Emily, glancing around warily.

"Paige, I don't think we should stay here, for one I'm starving I haven't eaten anything since the morning, and not to seem like a total downer but those soldiers have the area on lock down, they'd probably be patrolling the woods too" reasoned Caleb.

My stomach grumbled at the mention of food, and I dipped my head in embarrassment. But still I'd rather deal with a growling stomach than driving through the woods at night.

"We have some food, it just canned stuff and junk food but it'll do" Said Emily.

"We still have the soldiers to deal with" Reasoned Caleb.

"He has a point" Said Spencer.

"Let's just hide the cars as best as we can, and to be honest I doubt that I'd be getting any sleep, so it shouldn't be all that hard to keep a lookout" I replied. I understood their concern but honestly I would rather deal with the soldiers than driver us into a ditch or something worse.

"I'm with Paige, we'll just keep a lookout" I heard Emily say as she made her way to the back of the car, ruffling through some bags.

Caleb and Hanna were quick to agree, however Spencer didn't seem pleased with our decision, making her disagreement obvious by storming back into the car and slamming the door with such force, I thought it might fall off any second.

Emily walked back from the back of the car, arms laden with food and couple of water bottles. She offered each of us a water bottle and asked take our pick of food.

"Thank you, for the food. You didn't have to share what you have" I smiled at her. She didn't have to show us this much kindness, after all we were just strangers.

"It's no problem, I guess now we're even" she replied with a tentative smile.

I nodded my head and made my way back to the car.

* * *

><p>Emily's POV:<p>

We moved around for a while trying to find a decent spot that would leave us hidden. We found a spot but before settling there, Paige and I decided It would be best to take a look around and make sure that the cars wont be spotted easily.

I watched Paige's retreating back as she climbed back into the car before doing the same. I tried get as comfortable as I can get in a car seat. It was going to be a long night

"Really Emily? Helping random strangers? That's a great survival technique" Started Spencer as soon as I climbed into the car.

"Hanna isn't really a stranger" I looked at her pointedly

"We haven't spoken to her in years, she IS practically a stranger"

"Yeah I wonder why" I knew where this conversation was headed to, and I really didn't want to talk about it now. I sighed before continuing "Hanna was one of our closest friends, I doubt shed harm us. And those strangers? Well one of them just saved our lives so I was merely returning the favor"

"I still don't think we should trust them" argued Spencer. She was always the overprotective friend, but sometimes her trust issues and paranoia got out of hand and I knew that this conversation could go on all night long simply because Spencer Hastings could never back down from an argument; I mean she did this for a living.

"We'll be cautious around them then" I relented. My answer seemed to appease Spencer for the time being and we fell back into silence.

My thoughts drifted towards Paige almost immediately. Auburn hair, large brown eyes, athletic build, who knew that it was possible to look that good in scrubs? I was alarmed by the thought and so I decided to push it to the back of my head, filing it away for later. I wasn't sure what to make of the woman, would I call her brave or stupid after the stunt she pulled earlier. She occupied my thoughts for few more minutes before I decided that it would be best to focus on the task at hand.

My ears perked at every sound, and I tensed at every movement the leaves made around us, every sound made my heart rate speed up. I kept on surveying the area, looking around for corpses, anything that might be loitering behind these was 2 hours later when I heard the dragging noise. I glanced at spencer, checking that I'm not the only one who had picked up on the sound. The sight of her clutching the car door panel was enough confirmation.

I took in a deep breath to calm myself, and I opened my eyes wide to pull in enough light, in an attempt to penetrate the darkness. That's when I noticed the figures between the trees. They were shuffling through the trees slowly.

"Emily! We need to move" Whispered shouted Spencer.

"Maybe, they'll pass by?" I didn't want to risk driving in the dark.

"Move now" Yelled Spencer.

I closed my eyes tight, thinking of the best course of action, Could they see in the dark? Move or stay. I opened my eyes to a corpse banging against my window, making me let out a frightened yelp in response. That was my answer, and I turned on the ignition. Once the headlights came on I noticed that we're actually surrounded by a herd of corpses. How the fuck did that happen?

Before I had the chance to over think, I heard Paige's car roar to life and the next sounds that followed were the sounds of bodies being slammed against metal and bones being crushed beneath tires.


End file.
